Not Applicable
Not applicable
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to portable Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) systems and particularly to GPS systems that locate hunters and fishers with respect to hunting and fishing areas to ensure compliance with published regulations.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hunting and fishing these days requires an outdoors person to be familiar with many pages of complex regulations. Boundaries are established for hunting and fishing that permit or forbid people in engaging these activities. Often, what is legal in one area is illegal in the adjacent areas. Many times hunters of fishers cross these boundaries unexpectedly, placing them in violation of the rules. Within an approved area the number, size and type of fish or animals available for hunting varies from location and with the seasons-and sometimes by days of the week. Many times violations carry penalties from small fines to arrest and imprisonment. Therefore, it is every outdoor person""s responsibility to be knowledgeable of these rules and to know where they are at any time within a particular game or fish unit.
With the volume of information, it is very difficult for the average outdoor person to be totally familiar with the rules and even more, with the specific boundaries of the various fish and game units.
Within the last few years a new type of locator has been developed. The Global Positioning Satellite system (GPS system) uses a number of satellites to locate one""s position. All that is needed is a receiver and the person can know within a few feet, exactly where he or she is. Early systems gave readouts in latitude and longitude positions. Although helpful, one needs a map to be able to know where one is in relation to boundaries. Further developments if GPS systems produced handheld units that translate the satellite data into readable maps.
Despite these improvements, there is no device that ties the mapping information to fish and game regulations and units.
This invention uses the Global Positioning system in conjunction with a map database that acts as an interfaces with a memory card/disc/cartridge database that is capable of Internet downloads. The system can have multiple languages. The databases include current hunting and fishing regulations, park boundaries, and other special areas of interest.
This system has an alert function that alerts the user by audible alarm, screen flash, color change or vibration to any change in location, regulation changes, hazards or time changes. The alarm is programmable and allows the user to select the alarm settings from a menu.
As noted, the alarms can be programmed to alert the user to regulation changes, entering or approaching a different hunting/fishing boundary, unit or sub unit, shooting/fishing hours (sunrise/sunset), camping restrictions, campfire restrictions, bait restrictions, weapon/lure restrictions, shooting restrictions, park boundaries, preserve boundaries, refuges, public access areas or lack of, bag limit changes, hazardous areas (e.g., avalanche warnings, thin ice, high fire danger, weather warnings), vehicle restrictions, private property, Federal land, and State land locations.
Hunting regulations are stored on a card/disc/cartridge for each state/country/province. Regulations can be stored in multiple languages. Regulations for database cards already owned are updated via the Internet or vendor download. Regulations are listed in their entirety and are accessible by scroll down menu, species, location, weapon, date and time in relation to your current position.
Fishing Regulations are also stored on a card/disc/cartridge for each state/country/province. These regulations can be also in multiple languages. As above, these database cards already owned are updated via the Internet or be vendor download. Regulations are listed in their entirety and is accessible by scroll down menu, species, location, method of fishing, date and time in relation to your current position. Moreover, the system tells the user if a lake, stream or beach has public access and directions to where it is.
The system may also have a recreational guide area that allows the down loading of snow conditions, fishing reports, flood warnings, surf reports etc, which may be used in conjunction with the radio weather band, for example, to bring real time conditions to the user.